- Time Required
- 4–5 hours, including reading time
Welcome to Week Seven of the course. This week we begin the group writing projects in the course. This week you will prepare by learning about the projects and about teamwork strategies.
Fall Break
Fall Break is this Friday, October 6th. Be sure to take some time off for yourself! I will take the weekend off, so look for replies to any emails on Monday the 9th.
Holidays & Events This Week
- Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from through October 15. There are several related events at Virginia Tech.
- Pitru Paksha, a Hindu celebration of ancestors, lasts 16 days, ending on Saturday, October 14.
- Sukkot, a week-long Jewish holiday, lasts through sunset on October 6.
- Gandhi Jayanti is an Indian holiday that celebrates the birth of Mahatma Gandi, is Monday, October 2.
- Shermini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are two Jewish holidays, which take place on Friday and Saturday, October 6–7.
If you observe these holidays and need me to adjust your due dates, send me a message in Canvas.
Objectives for this Module
By completing this week’s activities, you address the following course objectives:
- Identify and define a problem or subject related to your particular field (or another specific problem according to your assignment’s directions) and assemble and analyze research related to this problem. [CLO 1]
- Analyze the context of this problem or subject and determine appropriate audiences for the unit’s deliverables. [CLO 2]
- Practice workplace genres associated with a team-based research project: a research proposal, meeting minutes, a progress report, a recommendation report or an informational report for non-expert readers, a slide deck presentation of the report, and a video presentation. [CLO 3]
- Practice team and collaborative work in all phases of project management. [CLO 4]
- Design strategies for evaluating the overall effectiveness of the suggested approaches to the researched problem. [CLO 5]
- Illustrate the ethical and human implications of the solutions proposed for solving the problem. [CLO 6]
Activities to Complete
Due Dates
- All work is due by 11:59 PM on Thursday, October 5 (A day early because of Fall Break).
- Grace Period:
- Ends at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, October 11 for all work—the Check-in Survey and the Try-Its.
NOTE: Because this week’s work is the foundation for the group work that takes place for the rest of the term, you need to submit it in a timely manner. As a result, we have a short grace period this week.
- Ends at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, October 11 for all work—the Check-in Survey and the Try-Its.
📚 To Read This Week
- Ch 4: Teamwork and Communication. from Technical Writing Essentials
- Group Writing
- Resource Modules:
📝 To Do This Week
- Review details on the Major Project assignments that your group will collaborate on:
- Proposal (Target: Friday, October 20)
- Progress Report (Target: Friday, November 3)
- Recommendation Report (Target: Tuesday, November 28)
- Be sure to consult the Recommendation Report Overview as well.
- Try out strategies from the course by submitting these activities:
- Try-It #13: Group Contract, Schedule, & Meeting Minutes (Tuesday)
- Try-It #14: Project Folder Setup (Thursday)
💬 To Ask Questions (Optional)
- Optional ways to discuss class issues:
- Post public questions in the General Q&A Discussion in Canvas if it can be shared with the class.
- If you have a private question, send me a message with the Canvas Inbox.
- Ask a question or make a suggestion anonymously with the Anonymous Questions & Suggestions form.
- Post public questions in the General Q&A Discussion in Canvas if it can be shared with the class.
📓 To Check-In This Week
- Fill out the Week 7 Check-In Survey to let me know how you are doing in the course.
Photo credit: Brainstorming by Drew on Flickr, used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.